'these threads have been around for years at this point, so it's not front page news.

the real story is the number of these bikes that do not show up in a build thread, of which there are many times more, although still a tiny fraction of the number of any half way comparable production bike.

what Kawasaki does or doesn't do in the area of future design and production is not a concern of guys building these motos...if they wanted a bike off the showroom floor, they wouldn't be working away out in the shop.'

All of this is true and untrue by the same time. In Germany, my country, for example you're not allowed to cut, re-design and weld a motor-cycle frame. You can do modifications, but usually just on the 'bolt-on-side' or it's a long and thorny road as you got to have permissions or documents for every little bit ...
I don't worry too much about my own theory, being an elder bloke with limited skills and having found a few bikes I do like. I'm able to maintain and repair them and to make minor changes to get them nearer to my needs and likes. It's just been a thought, especially as I do like mid-sized off-road-twins very much. And I thought there would be some more people with these likes out there ... And, finally, I thought it would give some pride to those who built these bikes ...
Kind regards, Bambi